Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 6: I only care about money!

That Zheng Tu! He snatched Li Zhong's cudgel and turned to leave with the speed of the wind.

"You shameless thief!"

Li Zhong cursed angrily and took a step forward to catch up.

Zheng Tu suddenly heard a whooshing sound behind his head and chuckled to himself, "He actually abandoned his plaster stall to chase after me. He really picked up a sesame seed and lost a watermelon. How irrational of him."

But when he turned around, he saw that Li Zhong had caught up with him and had somehow pulled out a stick, which he thrust at his waist.

Zheng Tu thought with disdain, "This fellow is nothing more than a traveling peddler who sells medicine and uses a spear. How much skill could he possibly have? Although my master was bullied by that scoundrel Lu Da, do you think I'm afraid of a poor man like you? I might not be able to beat Lu Da, but I can certainly beat you!"

The thought crossed his mind, and he prepared to twist and dodge.

Unexpectedly, with a muffled "thud," the blow seemed to carry a thousand pounds of force, piercing his internal organs and causing him to stagger two steps, nearly falling over.

"How could this be?!"

"This stick is so tricky, and it's incredibly heavy!"

Zheng Tu's pupils contracted sharply, and he staggered two steps after being hit. His mouth tasted blood, and he turned to grab the stick, but he was hit in the chest again, this time right in his diaphragm.

This move is the most powerful; it's like it's going to smash your internal organs!

Zheng Tu felt his internal organs churning, and he didn't know how many of his ribs were broken. He felt a sweet taste in his throat and couldn't help but spit out blood.

Only then did he realize the gravity of the situation: "How could this scoundrel be so ruthless!"

Before he could catch his breath, Li Zhong struck him with his third and fourth blows, and the sound of bones cracking filled the air.

It turns out that this man usually only used a fraction of his strength to entertain the onlookers when he performed on the street, but when he really got into a fight, he used such skillful methods!

Li Zhong's eyes were bloodshot, and his face was full of ferocity. He was slowly walking forward, carrying a stick.

He cursed, "You sons of bitches! You bunch of scoundrels, do you all think that I'm easy to bully? Last time, that Commander Lu forced me to drink, wanting to play the hero and help Jin Cuilian. He had no money of his own, so he forced me to take out two taels of silver!"

That's the hard-earned money I saved up by working countless nights and selling countless plasters! That's all I have left! And what does he do? He scolds me for not being efficient!

As he spoke, he swept the stick across Zheng Tu's knee again, the sound of bones cracking like the snapping of dry twigs.

Zheng Tu collapsed to the ground, his body seemingly broken apart, his mouth full of bloody foam gurgling, unable to utter a word.

Li Zhong approached, stick in hand, his face contorted with rage: "Selling medicine is my livelihood! If you don't want to buy, fine, but you insist on taking my livelihood! That Lu Da messed things up for me, and now you're messing things up too! Today I'll teach you a lesson: the Tiger-Slaying General isn't made of dough!"

As he spoke, his anger flared even more: "You scoundrels, 'Zhen Guanxi'? Bah! You're nothing but a pig butcher, trying to lend money and swindle women? I'll settle this score with you today!"

He swung the stick and struck the top of the head.

Zheng Tu felt his vision growing darker and darker, and in his dying moments, he vaguely thought, "Damn it, the humiliation he suffered at Lu Da's hands... what does that have to do with me..."

But how could I possibly say it?

The final blow came crashing down. Zheng Tu's vision went black, and he was instantly killed.

Li Zhong took a deep breath, wiped the bloodstains from his stick onto Zheng Tu's clothes, looked around to make sure no one was watching, hurriedly packed up his stall, slung his satchel over his shoulder, and dashed out of the city.

[Zheng Tu, died! 】

[Survival days: 0 days.]

……

Zheng Tu suddenly opened his eyes, his body covered in cold sweat, as if he had collapsed from exhaustion.

After catching my breath for a while, my mood finally calmed down a little.

The scene of being tortured and killed by Li Zhong was still vivid in my mind. Unlike the previous times, this time my death was even more gruesome; Li Zhong's methods were truly ruthless!

It is true that one cannot judge a book by its cover, nor can one measure the depths of the sea.

Zheng Tu patted his chest, thinking to himself, "This Li Zhong doesn't look impressive, but he's surprisingly quite capable! When I killed that pale-faced scholar, I thought I was pretty good, but now it seems..."

The little bit of smugness that had just arisen in my heart vanished completely at this moment.

How to break the game?

Zheng Tu secretly pondered. Since Li Zhong was so capable, the previous attitude towards him would not work.

He suddenly remembered that before he died, Li Zhong kept repeating the word "money".

Suddenly, a thought struck him: "That's it! This guy sells medicine in the martial arts world just for money. Why don't I start from there?"

Zheng Tu's lips curled up, and he immediately straightened up and called over his waiter, Niu Da.

The ox rushed over in a hurry.

Zheng Tu asked, "How much silver is left in the shop?"

Niu Da was taken aback, his expression shifting: "Master... what do you need the money for?"

Zheng Tu was furious: This fellow is becoming more and more unruly, acting as if he is the master!

He said irritably, "I told you to speak, so speak! What's wrong with being nosy?"

Niu Danu left without saying a word, and soon returned with a wooden box: "I only have eight or nine taels of loose silver and three strings of copper coins. I just settled the meat bill and received my wages the day before yesterday..."

Zheng Tu frowned deeply: "Why is there so little!"

Helpless, he pocketed all the silver, leaving only three strings of cash in the box, and instructed, "Take good care of the shop, I'm going out to take care of some business."

Instead of going through the front door, he circled around the back alley, choosing quiet paths to find Li Zhong, the tiger-slaying general.

Upon seeing the familiar plaster stall and the familiar burly man, Zheng Tu's eyes lit up.

A poem says:

With a pointed head and a snake-like face, it is renowned among spears and clubs.

The tiger-slaying general was bold and courageous; Li Zhongzu was born in Baling.

Li Zhong was a robust man with a sallow complexion. Although he only ran a plaster stall, he had a refined air about him despite his dejected appearance.

Zheng Tu thought to himself, "I used to think he was just an ordinary man making a living in the martial world, but I never expected him to be so skilled. How can such a person be underestimated?"

"With his help, my chances of survival have increased by three times."

He quickly hurried to the stall, bowed deeply, and said with a smile, "May I ask if you are the valiant Li Zhong, known in the martial world as 'Tiger Slayer'? I have long admired your name!"

Li Zhongzheng was picking up plasters when he heard this. He looked up and sized up the newcomer.

Seeing that Zheng Tu was dressed like a butcher, not someone who had come to buy medicine, the warmth in his eyes faded.

He barely managed a forced smile and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "What hero or not, it's just the kindness of friends in the martial world. I'm just setting up a stall here to make a living."

After saying that, he lowered his head and fiddled with the bottles and jars, clearly unwilling to talk more and having no intention of making friends.

Seeing that he was so indifferent after being looked at, Zheng Tu was not annoyed, but instead breathed a sigh of relief.

A person's name, a tree's shadow.

My current meager reputation is naturally no match for that of Song Jiang, the righteous and filial son of Shandong.

If Song Jiang were in person, Li Zhong would probably be overly enthusiastic, even if he didn't immediately bow down.

But in the world of martial arts, reputation isn't everything!

As the saying goes, one cannot befriend a person without quirks. Since he has been involved in the underworld and is now down on his luck selling goods at a stall, how could he not have some shortcomings?

Since Li Zhong had this business to manage and these days to endure, he had "hope." Once he had hope, things became easier to discuss.

"Hero, may I have a word with you in private?"